"I have a message from another time..."

In 1983, young Hideki Anno had just completed a masterpiece promo for the 22nd anime, comic, and Sci-Fi convention in Osaka, Japan. That work went on to be known as DAICON IV.

This and the prequel, DAICON III, were the first works done by a new and talented group of animators who would go on to become GAINAX.

The DAICON IV movie has been mentioned, parodied, or alluded to in a number of different ways over the past decade:
In the infamous Otaku no Video, DAICON IV is mentioned as a major event in anime history.
In eppisode five of FLCL, the main character does a rendition of the special movie, and even yells out, "DAICON V!"
In the new Japanese dramedy, Train Man (Densha Otoko), the big anime character created for the series is a direct parody of the main character of the DAICON film. The opening theme is also a modern remake of the film.

If you were to find an original lazerdisc of this video it will be worth a lot of money. Because so many copywrighted characters were featured in the film, the DAICON vendors had to sell a convention book with a free copy of the video included!

A daikon is a Japanese radish (that's the ship featured in the end of episode III and the beginning of IV).

If you haven't watched it yet, and I know a lot of you have, here is D-IV in all its glory:


And here is a copy of the opening from Densha Otoko, with a comparison PIP.


If you would like a copy of either of these or the special "Making of D-IV" film, please email me at Kip@ani-pock.net .